Shauna Corr

A Cookstown woman who was very vocal in her opposition to planning for the town’s first KFC has, in an unprecedented step, come forward to congratulate everyone involved for a job well done.

Diane Sprake, who is mostly house-bound because of a condition that fused the bones in her spine together, said the noise and disruption she had anticipated after the fast food outlet was given the go-ahead, hasn’t been that bad.

She has come forward to congratulate staff at Cookstown District Council’s Environmental Health Department for taking on board the concerns of those against the restaurant, and coming up with a solution that has done the trick.

“The builder walked me round the site and showed me where everything was gonna be,” she told the Mail.

“My main problem was the drive-thru... and he said to me ‘is it your fault that we’ve got to put a tunnel up?’

“Because of local opposition, they had to redesign it because there was still a noise problem.

“It’s good - because people were listening,” Diane added. “And to be completely honest, I can’t hear it.”

Happy that the drive-thru causes very little noise, Diane said what has become a small problem is the “back-log of cars on the road”.

“That is serious,” she explained, “because you can’t cross.

“People are trying to pull out of KFC and they can’t turn left or right because the traffic is completely blocked.”

In relation to this TransportNI said: “In assessing the application for the KFC restaurant, account was taken of highway matters.

“Whilst it was recognised that the proposal would result in some traffic disruption... it was not felt this would result in a significant deterioration in safety.”

On a more positive note, Diane added: “The noise now the building is gone, is pretty much finished. They open 11am-11pm, and what I have tried to listen to deliberately is that shutter going up and down, and I can’t hear it.